Can You See it in My Eyes?
by AliceSarina
Summary: Why is it so important for Fi that Michael take the case of Corey and Tanya in the episode "Hot Spot"? Disclaimer: Rape alluded to, but not described. Rating "T" is just to be safe.


It was another sunny Miami afternoon, but Fi was sleeping. A late night meant an afternoon nap. Her phone's ringing woke her from rest, from a nightmare. She groggily grabbed the phone from her nightstand, and quickly snapped back to reality. She opened her phone.

"Sam?" she answered.

"Hey Fi, listen, it looks like we have a couple of kids at the loft that have gotten themselves in some trouble, and we are keeping them safe for now. I want to run and get some pizza, but I don't want them to be alone. Do you mind coming over to keep them company?"

She sat up in her bed and said, "I'm on my way"

"Thanks, Fi," Sam said, and she closed her phone.

She riffled around her closet for something to wear and pulled out a cotton shirt and some jeans. Her mind wandered back towards her nightmare. She didn't think about much else as she brushed her teeth and ran a brush through her hair. She had been back, there, in that alley. Her mind, without her consent, wandered back to Belfast, to that cold day when the those men had…

She stopped herself from thinking of it. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, and pulled her hair into a messy bun. She hadn't gotten along this far by dwelling on the past. It had been months since she had even thought of it. "Wretched dreams," she whispered to herself.

She stepped out into the sweltering Miami heat, the sun brightly shining in the cloudless sky and the smell of salt water and fresh-cut grass numbed the ache in her stomach, and stirred her back into reality. Belfast was thousands of miles away. She had Michael, and Sam, and Maddie, and a life here.

*******

Fi got to the loft and found Sam sitting in the kitchen, sipping a beer, and chatting with 2 teenage kids.

"Oh hey, Fi. This is Corey and Tanya. They are in some trouble with a local gang member, Felix is his name, right?

"Yeah, that his name," Corey said.

"What happened?" asked Fi, as she pulled up a stool next to Sam.

Corey went on to explain the situation, and how life has gotten far more dangerous for him and his sister. Her rape. His retaliation with the baseball bat.

Anyone watching would notice Fi's face growing more flush, her hands clenched into fists. She only nods through the story, and when they are finished, she says, "we will, of course, help you. We will get rid of Felix for you."

"Fi, be careful what you promise them," Sam said, cautiously.

"Now is not the time to argue with me, Sam!" Fi said, her voice elevating with every syllable. "Do you think we can't deal with some pathetic excuse for a gang-banger?"

"I just think we have a lot of other things to worry about right now."

Corey and Tanya move to sit on the bed, looking awkwardly, as if they would rather not be in the middle of the conflict. Fi stood up, and moved closer to Sam, pointing a finger at his face, and says, "We better start figuring out our priorities, then."

Sam lifted his hands up, in an "I surrender" fashion, and Fi stormed out of the loft.

She didn't go far, just onto the steps. When see heard Tanya's story, she saw herself, when she was younger. And looking at Corey, she had seen her brothers. She sat on a step, and for the first time in a very long time, rather without her permission, her mind plunged itself headfirst into that night, all those years ago.

********

She was 13, and it was the in the late hours of the night. Seven kids meant a lot of mouths to feed, and she had broken in to a grocer, a couple miles from the house, to knick some food. It was easier at night, the people that wandered the streets at 3 in the morning had far more pressing matters than a little girl carrying loaves of bread and bags of potatoes. At least that's what she had thought. It wasn't her first late night romp through the city at night, and she was beginning to feel confident, almost cocky.

She was walking down a street, not far from the house, when she saw four men, clearly drunk, approaching her. This wasn't the first time she had seen drunken men wandering around the city, and it barely registered as a concern. She felt a flutter in her stomach when the men stopped right in front of her.

"You're a pretty young thing," said the biggest of the group, he was pale, brown hair, kind of dumb looking. He smiled at her, his teeth were crooked. "What are you doing out in the wee hours of the morning, not makin' trouble, I hope."

Fi, who had always been slight, just stared at the four ominous men standing before her. She had never felt so small. Her brothers fought, knew how to defend themselves, but such things had never been taught her or Claire. She had always had a bit of a rebellious streak, but before that moment she had never had the desire to know how to fight.

The glint in their eyes, they way they all seemed to smile at the same time, the way two of the men had circled behind her so she could not escape, Fi knew she was in trouble. She felt all the strength leave her body, and fear gripped her stomach like a vice. She could not think of any words to say in response.

She started to scream, when a dirty hand was shoved in her mouth. "None of that will be necessary, love"

As they dragged her into the ally, she dropped a bag of potatoes she had been carrying and they all rolled across the sidewalk.

*******

A storekeeper found her. She screamed when he tried to pick her up. He finally convinced her to stand up, for she had lost all will to stand. He wrapped a blanket around her.

Her mother made her a cup of strong tea and asked her what had happened. In gasping breaths she told her, described the men, described what they did. She never talked about it again. She never drank tea again.

Her mother laid her in the bed she shared with her sister, Claire. Claire was too young to understand, but she saw Fi crying. "What's wrong, sissy?" she cooed. Claire curled up next to her sister ran her finger's through her sister's hair. Fi could feel Claire's soft breath on her shoulders. It was the first time she felt human again.

She stayed in bed all day. As night fell, her brothers came home. She hadn't realized they'd left. They had found the men. The men had been taken care of. They suffered. Though her brothers gave her no details, she had seen what they could do to a man. It was a small comfort to Fi. It was then, in that moment, that she resolved to become strong. She would learn to fight her own battles. The next time four men tried to attack her, she would be ready.

*******

The cool breeze coming off the water was what brought Fi back to reality, a burst of comfort from the heat. Tears had gathered in her eyes, she sat staring at the metal gate.

The memories felt like a fresh wound again. She focused her thoughts on shooting Tanya's rapist. She would shoot him in his manhood first, let him scream and suffer before she finally killed him. She pushed the idea away, after some time contemplating it. Michael was more even-keeled. He would come up with a plan. Together they would avenge this girl's rape, rid the world of this pervert.

She wiped the tears from her eyes. She couldn't change the past, but she could sure as hell bring some justice for Tanya. She got up from the steps and walked back into the loft, more composed.

*******

"Michael, I am gunna say this once, 'we are helping these kids,'" Fi argued with Michael on the balcony.

"Fi, this is a job for the police." He looked exasperated.

"Sure if we let Felix kill Corey, we will have more evidence when he comes after this girl again," Fiona spit back.

"You made your point, we can get them out of town."

"No! They've done nothing wrong, they are not going anywhere. That sick son of a bitch is going somewhere, this is not a discussion."

"Fiona, you are letting your emotions get the better of you," he said, calmly.

"No, I'm doing better than that, I am letting my feelings run the show, and I am feeling very strongly about this."

It was with all the fierceness that she could muster that she stared at Michael, her eyes screaming what her lips could not.

He stared at her intently. Their relationship held many unspoken things. "I love you." "I need you." "I was raped when I was a girl, and everything within me needs to destroy this rapist."

His face softened slightly as he stared, from anger to something else. He turned and stared at Corey and Tanya briefly, and turned his head back to her.

"Okay, Fi. We'll take the job," he said in a soothing voice, and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Warmth flooded over her at the feel of his skin against hers. She looked into his eyes, searching for unadulterated understanding, but instead she found love and loyalty and perhaps even sympathy. For the moment she was appeased. "Thank you, Michael," she said curtly.

But a half-smile spread across her face. He smiles back at her, but otherwise remains still. She sighs audibly, and allows the tension to ease from her shoulders.

She turns quickly from him, letting his hand fall off her shoulder as she walks into the kitchen to get a yogurt.


End file.
